The Why

The sky is not falling, but a change has happened: AI and robots are here. A ChatGPT Business account is $25 per employee per month and can substantially boost productivity. By late summer 2025 I learned two troubling facts that shaped this page. First, a Tesla robot will retail for less than the annual cost of a worker earning $15/hour (about $31,200 before employer taxes), and once you factor benefits and healthcare, a robot can look far cheaper. Second, New Mexico’s public education system is ranked last in the nation. Together, these realities worry me about the future for my adopted state and for Las Cruces — a city whose people have welcomed me warmly.

The image at left is my first computer, which I bought when I was 23 in 1983. It was a “luggable” Kaypro with green text on a small screen, two 360k floppy drives, and no modern conveniences. Even then, owning that machine made me a computer geek. I spent many years working in and around technology—Seattle in the 1980s, business travel to Hong Kong and China, and supplier relationships in India and Europe.

An accident of birth gave me an above-average IQ and a near-computer-like recall — not genius, just sharp. I don’t have a university degree and I still struggle with spelling (I’ve been forgetting how to spell “cereal” my whole life). I built a business, kept learning technology as it changed, and now, retired, I’m on my 65th trip around the sun.

My motivation for this work comes from walking through the doors of the Sakya Tibetan Buddhist center in Seattle more than twenty years ago (sakya.org). By taking vows, I committed to doing no harm and to relieving suffering when I can. I’m not a monk — I’m a fairly lazy lay practitioner — but that commitment is genuine. Small moments, like meeting someone connected to the film Little Buddha, are part of how I stayed connected to that community.